Count It ALL Joy!

I have quite a few writings from my dear friend, Heather Wilson-Smith, that I will be sharing with you.  Please click on her name to find her on Google+...

"Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice." Philippians 4:4

In the midst of your struggles, and in the midst of your worry, rejoicing doesn't always come easy. But, this is precisely the time to keep on keeping on!
It's feels good to rejoice in the Lord. Maybe you've tried this and it just didn't seem to work...that's okay, just keep on rejoicing. When you cannot feel ANY joy whatsoever, when your hurts overtake your soul, when there seems to be no comfort or encouragement around you, still rejoice.
I have a new favorite song. It's by Shannon Wexelberg and it's called, "Count it all joy". The chorus goes something like this:
"Count it all joy when we face many trials, when we suffer for righteousness sake.
Count it all joy for like gold in the fire, every test is refining our faith."
We can count on God to deliver us from our sufferings, and He will make good of the bad. You don't think that our Father would let us carry His banner of victory to the front of the battle and then stand back to see us captured or beaten by the enemy, do you?
The Holy Spirit will sustain us in our boldness and fill our heart with gladness and praise.

As my Mother always says, "This is STILL the day the Lord has made"!

~God Bless, Melanie